Monday, June 16, 2008

Check Out This Donut Blog: nycdonutreport.blogspot.com

1. I acquired a donut hole maker! Thank you Nancy! Complete with a recipe book, and some donut recipes that don't call for sugar. My first try at making hand-made donuts involved a sugarless apple fritter recipe. I used agave nectar for sweetener. When the donut holes were formed and cooked (taking only 4 minutes!) I rolled them in melted butter and stuffed my face with them. They were delicious despite being sugar-free and non-deep fried, though a little bready and more like a sweet muffin. The smell brought other members of my family into the kitchen, but moments too late. I had devoured all of the apple fritter donut holes, so I made another batch of plain, but full-of-sugar donuts for my family. Those were devoured in less than 5 minutes, after being rolled in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. I will be trying different recipes in the near future, and comforting myself with these sweet morsels, albeit sugar-free.

2. Condolence number two happens to be a blog-of-note that I ran across, titled "NYC Donut Report"! It is a very well-written, informative and interesting blog about DONUTS! Here's a description I read that had me salivating and questioning my plight:

"My only solace in those days was that coffee cart chocolate glazed. I do not know where this donut was made, and I wish I'd asked the nice Middle Eastern man in traditional clothing who ran the cart. I remember the glaze was thick and crusty and extra-sweet. The donut meat itself was moist and rich. And of course, once you've added the sugar to your coffee cart coffee, you simply can't go wrong." -NYCDonutReport.blogspot.com

3. My last and most affirming condolence is my new exercise routine. It helps me think about donuts for what they are-fattening, caloric, sugary, unhealthy and heavy. My new routine is one that I will have for life. It is very easy and I can choose every day how hard I will work at it. My routine is to do push-ups, sit-ups and one yoga pose (the plank) every morning upon waking and every evening before climbing into bed. What I believe will make this a lasting routine, is that I only have to do one of each, more only if I choose to. Last night camping, I forgot about my new routine until I was snuggled deep in my sleeping bag in our little tent at the edge of a gorgeous lake. To prove to myself that I can keep this routine in any situation, I climbed out of my sleeping bag, crouched over my husband and my dog, and did ONE sit-up, ONE push-up and the plank for only a few seconds. I adopted this new routine last week, and I can already see a difference in my abs. While I want a stronger, firmer middle, donuts want to plump me up. Maybe next year.